Dream Showcase Returns

After raves and accolades after its maiden staging in January earlier this year, Mimpi Artilla is back by popular demand for a re-staging with new cast and ensemble members. Written and directed by the acclaimed Adlin Aman Ramlie, renowned for his works in Puteri Gunung Ledang the movie, Akademi Fantasia, Maharaja Lawak Mega, Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical and P. Ramlee the Musical amongst others, Mimpi Artilla was first produced by My Performing Arts Agency (MyPAA) for the purpose of The Royal Arts Gala, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MoTaC), and the National Department for Culture and Arts, and featured industry greats like Ezlynn, Tony Eusoff and Adibah Noor.

The 90-minute, bi-lingual musical piece is one of the many artistic and cultural presentations under the multi-faceted Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) tourism campaign as an avenue to showcase the diverse talents that our country holds. The second installation will feature local songstress Ezlynn famous for her chart topping hit Hi Hi Bye Bye, Vince Chong, famous for his involvement in Akademi Fantasia 1, Muzikal Terima Kasih Cinta, The Producers and more. Also joining them is Malaysia’s golden voice of jazz, Salamiah Hassan with up and coming icon, Zamzuriah Zahari leading the 38-member ensemble.

“When MyPAA first approached me to create a musical theatre performance that would be the royal showcase during The Royal Arts Gala, I thought the show would be a one-off production and didn’t expect for a restage,” shared Adlin Aman Ramlie, who took his first steps into the performing arts scene because he was not too keen to further his studies after completing his secondary education.

A member of the International Society of Performing Arts (ISPA), MyPAA is a privately owned arts agency with the express goal of supporting the continuing development of artistic and cultural efforts in Malaysia by bridging the gap between the public, private and performing arts.

Rehearsals go on from morning till late during the weekends and after 7pm on weekdays because most of the cast hold regular day jobs and while both main cast and ensemble members have changed, Adlin feels good about the 2nd season, albeit it being smaller production.

“That’s the beauty of creating a play from scratch. Even though this is the second time we’re staging the play, it’s still too soon to say which version in better than the other. Right now, my main objective is to see how it grow. It is also a good way for us to improve the on the production as a whole,” he said.

“I feel very honoured to be given the privilege to stage Mimpi Artilla once again. I’m very thankful to MoTaC and JKKN, in particular YB Datuk Seri Nazri, for acknowledging that the nation needs to be injected with more arts and culture in order to prosper socially and economically and I’m humbled that he has selected Mimpi Artilla as one of the vehicles to do this,” shared Adlin Aman Ramlie, who comes from a family of performers, his parents Ruminah Sidek and the late AR Tompel are both industry legends.

The story revolves around Puteri Artilla (Ezlynn) who hails from the Mayan Kingdom, where the arts abound. This spunky and free spirited princess is betrothed to Prince Syah Rohan (Vince Chong), from the neighbouring Kingdom of Rohan; a kingdom that has denounced the arts since the time of their forefathers. Puteri Artilla embarks on an expedition with the Prince, one that forces them to learn about each other. Along with the Prince’s royal entourage, the expedition brings them to art-enriched corners of her Kingdom; a journey that eventually changes the Prince’s perception of the arts and of the princess.

The second installation of Mimpi Artilla is scheduled for 8:30 pm and 3:00 pm, 13 and 14 September 2014 respectively, at the Experimental Theatre (Panggung Eksperimen), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. On 14 September, the audience will also be given opportunity to interact with the creative team and actors after the performance.